After Acquiring A New EFPS System, East Midlands Airport Sought A Simulator That Enabled Relevant Training Capability For ATCOs and ATCAs, With Scalability To Support ABES Training In The Future.
East Midlands Airport was looking to procure a simulator that immediately catered to their needs in training ATCOs and ATCAs on newly purchased Electronic Flight Progress Strips (AFPS) and later expand their capability into ABES training.
They had to be particular in their criteria for procuring a simulator because any chosen solution needed to be flexible in integrating with their operational 'Aviibit' EFPS system, allowing them to use their operational equipment in their newly simulated environment.
Having explored market options, East Midlands Airport elected to purchase a BEST simulator with Micro Nav. EMA cites an affinity for the fact that the product was made by former Air Traffic Controllers, with former Air Traffic Controllers continuing to operate as key stakeholders in the BEST roadmap today.
Other key factors in their purchase decision were the flexibility offered by the BEST Simulator Suite and the strong technical training and support offered throughout the installation and post-purchase stages.
Paul Kay
Former Air Traffic Services Manager at East Midlands Airport
The final solution installed at East Midlands Airport comprised a tri-channel visual display system with a BEST Tower controller, a BEST Radar Controller, two BEST Pseudo Pilots, and a BIM that stimulated the integration between BEST and EMEA's Aviibit EFPS system. In addition, EMEA elected to purchase Micro Nav's Fast Airport Builder (FAB) and BEST Interface Manager to ensure the highest possible fidelity and realism from their new simulator solution.
While installing the simulator, the Micro Nav training team guided EMA on the setup and use of their simulator, providing the technical know-how to ensure the product met their requirements from the outset and that EMA was well-positioned to make amendments and enhancements to their setup in the future. The ongoing guidance of our support team enables all users of the simulator to have the best possible experience with the product.
Following the instillation of EMAs new BEST simulator, several strategic business goals were met, including:
Supporting comprehensive training for EFPS systems amongst ATCOs and ATCAs
Creating a suitable test environment for trialling new EFPS software versions to ensure they meet required operational standard
Being able to conduct live exercise training with relevant third parties, such as the police.
Building a repository of exercise scenarios for the EMA to adopt each year, reducing the issue of ATCOs being familiar with already completed exercises
Building a repository of pre-recorded simulator footage for emergency exercises involving associated airport teams and external agencies
Using the simulator to demonstrate planned airport projects and infrastructure changes, helping refine plans to mitigate disruption